Illinois gubernatorial election, 2006

Illinois gubernatorial election, 2006

The Illinois gubernatorial election of 2006 occurred on November 7, 2006. The incumbent Governor of Illinois, Democrat Rod Blagojevich, won re-election for a four-year term that ends in January 2011. Many observers expected the race to be close, especially considering the polling [http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=8eca95c7-104b-43c0-8ca5-20048b49913a] , which has shown Governor Blagojevich had a high disapproval rating. However, the Republicans fared poorly in elections since 2002 due to scandals involving prior Governor George Ryan, as well as changing demographics in the state as a whole (see blue state).

Party candidates

"Candidates are listed in alphabetical order by last name. Incumbent appears in bold. Democratic and Republican candidates are required to collect 5,000 signatures from registered Illinois voters in order to qualify for ballot placement. All others are required to collect 25,000 signatures."

* Rod Blagojevich (Democratic Party) - incumbent governor, first winning election in 2002.
* Judy Baar Topinka (Republican Party) - state treasurer and former state party chairwoman.
* Rich Whitney (Green Party) - civil rights attorney from Carbondale, Illinois.

Write-in candidates

"Candidates are listed in alphabetical order by last name. Write-in candidates for Governor had to pre-file separately with the local election official in each of the 102 counties in Illinois and votes for these candidates are only counted in those counties in which their filing is deemed valid."

*Marvin Koch - Chicago-area property manager and naval reservist. [http://www.modernvertebrate.com/elections/2006-illinois/]
*Mark McCoy (Libertarian Party) - Legal Scholar and Rights Defender. Officially Endorsed by the [http://www.lpillinois.org Libertarian Party of Illinois] - [http://www.markmccoy.com/ Mark McCoy for IL Governor 2006]
*Angel Rivera - Lung Transplant Procurement Coordinator at The University of Chicago Hospital. [http://www.vote4angel.com vote4angel.com] [http://www.modernvertebrate.com/elections/2006-illinois/]
*Randy Stufflebeam - state Constitution Party chairman, USMC veteran and church activist.
*Mike Shorten Husband and father of three from Crystal Lake, IL running as an Independent Candidate. [http://www.shorten4gov.com www.shorten4gov.com]

Primary losers

"Candidates are listed in alphabetical order by last name."
*Bill Brady (Republican Party) - State Senator
*Edwin Eisendrath (Democratic Party) - former Chicago Alderman, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Kendall College
*Ron Gidwitz (Republican Party) - Businessman and ex-State Board of Education Chair
*Andy Martin (Republican Party) - legal activist and frequent candidate
*Jim Oberweis (Republican Party) - dairy company owner & '02/'04 US Senate candidate

Primary election results

Republican race

On November 7, 2005, Topinka announced that she would not seek re-election as state treasurer — instead, she entered the gubernatorial primary, hoping to challenge Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich. The Republican primary was deeply divisive; her tenure as Party Chairman destroyed her support from the conservative wing of her party, and it was feared that her pro-choice and positive gay rights positions would be detrimental to her standing with the same conservatives. In December she announced that she would join forces with DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett as a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois.

In February 2006, the candidates for the Republican nomination for Illinois Governor began running their first TV ads for the March statewide primary election. Rival candidate Ron Gidwitz's advertisements, attacking Topinka, were rebuked in the same week by the Illinois Republican Party: "In an unprecedented action, the Illinois Republican Party has officially rebuked the Gidwitz campaign for this ad because the Party found that the ad violates the Party's "Code of Conduct," which was enacted to police proper conduct among Republican candidates."

Later in February, candidate Jim Oberweis, another rival for the Republican Gubernatorial nomination, started a series of attack ads for television markets, against Topinka, that were even more widely criticized, mostly for using "fake" headlines on the images of actual Illinois newspapers. ref|Tribune ref|FactCheck These ads, like Gidwitz's ads, also came under review by the Illinois Republican Party. ref|SLPD Because of the controversy generated, several television stations withdrew Oberweis's ads. ref|DH

On March 21, 2006, Topinka won the Republican nomination with 37% of the vote.

Democratic race

Blagojevich had one competitor in Chicago city councilman Ed Eisendrath but Eisendrath lost 70% to 29%, the best showing that Blagojevich had ever faced in a primary.

Results of primaries

General election results

Election box candidate with party link
party = Democratic Party (US)
candidate = Rod Blagojevich (incumbent)
votes = 1,736,219
percentage = 49.8
change = -2.4
Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (US)
candidate = Judy Baar Topinka
votes = 1,368,682
percentage = 39.3
change = -5.8
Election box candidate with party link
party = Green Party (United States)
candidate = Rich Whitney
votes = 361,163
percentage = 10.4
change = +10.4
Election box candidate with party link
party = Constitution Party (United States)
candidate = Randy Stufflebeam (Write-in)
votes = 19,020
percentage = 0.5
change = +0.5
Election box candidate
party =
candidate = Other Write-ins
votes = 1,587
percentage = 0.0
change = "n/a"
Election box majority
votes = 367,537
percentage = 10.5
change =
Election box turnout
votes = 3,486,671
percentage =
change =
Election box hold with party link
winner = Democratic Party (US)
swing =
Blagojevich was declared the winner by 10:00 p.m. a factor of his win was his 38-point victory over Topika and her just winning in rural counties, by slim margins. Green party candidate Rich Whitney by receiving more than 5% of the total vote, Whitney's candidacy allowed the Green Party to become an "established political party" statewide, according to Illinois state election law. This status provides the party with several new advantages, such as lower signature requirements for ballot access, primary elections, free access to additional voter data, the ability to elect precinct committeemen, run a partial slate of candidates at any jurisdictional level, and slate candidates without petitioning. The only other statewide established political parties are the Democratic and Republican parties. It is rare for a new political party to become established statewide in Illinois, the last to do so being the Solidarity Party in 1986 and the Progressive Party before that.

Opinion polling

Green Party Establishment

The Green Party became an "established political party" statewide, according to Illinois state election law, when Rich Whitney received more than 5% of the total vote for Governor. This status provides the party with several new advantages, such as lower signature requirements for ballot access, primary elections, free access to additional voter data, the ability to elect precinct committeemen, run a partial slate of candidates at any jurisdictional level, and "slate" candidates without petitioning. The only other statewide established political parties are the Democratic and Republican parties. It is rare for a new political party to become established statewide in Illinois, the last to do so being the Solidarity Party in 1986 and the Progressive Party before that.

ee also

*2006 Election for statewide offices in the State of Illinois
*U.S. gubernatorial elections, 2006
*State of Illinois
*Governors of Illinois

External links

* [http://www.whitneyforgov.org/ Whitney's Campaign Website]
* [http://www.rodforillinois.com/ Blagojevich's Campaign Website]
* [http://www.judyforgov.com Topinka's Campaign Website]
* [http://www.runrandyrun.com Stufflebeam's Campaign Website]
* [http://www.markmccoy.com/ Mark McCoy's Campaign Website]
* [http://kochforgovernor.com/ Koch's Campaign Website]
* [http://www.standingupforillinois.org/ Quinn's Campaign Website]
* [http://www.joebirkett.com Birkett's Campaign Website]
* [http://thirdpartywatch.com/2005/11/25/our-interview-with-randy-stufflebeam/ Stufflebeam Interview]


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